1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward a pressurized toy water gun bow for projecting water arrows and more particularly to such toy water gun bows that use self-contained means of pressurizing a water reservoir with air, creating a pressure differential between the contained water and the ambient atmosphere and utilizing this pressure differential to propel water from the toy in a predetermined manner to create an "arrow" of water.
2. Prior Art Statement
Water guns have for decades been a very popular child's toy. Since the toy industry is very competitive, hundreds of different style water guns have been developed in an attempt to profit from the toy's inherent popularity. The most traditional forms of water guns are activated by a pumping action, either manually through the trigger or automatically through a battery operated motor. Such pump action water guns work, but the guns are limited in the distance the water traveled, the amount of water projected and the duration of the pumping cycle. In an attempt to improve upon water guns, the toy industry has developed pressure activated water guns. Such pressure water guns work upon the principle of pressure differentials between the water held within the toy and the atmosphere. The water within the toy is held at a pressure higher than that of the ambient air. As a result, when the water within the toy is given an avenue of escape, the water will stream out under pressure.
Two primary types of pressure activated water toys exist. The first type is when the water itself is worked to a pressure higher than that of the ambient air. This type of water gun is exemplified by the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,070 to Curtis F. Pearl et al, shows a water gun activated by trapping water in a collapsible area. As the device is collapsed, the pressure of the water builds, spraying the water out of the one small orifice left within the pressured area. Once the confined area is fully collapsed, the re-expansion of the area draws forth more water from a reservoir, thus priming the water gun for another cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,480 to Robert S. Shindo and U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,239 to Michael E. Salmon et al, both show toy water devices that use an elastic bladder to pressurize water. The bladders are filled with high pressure water, and the bladders respond by elastically deforming. The source of pressurized water is then removed and the water within the expanded bladder is held in place by a clapping device activated by a trigger. The water gun is used by selectively releasing the water from the expanded bladder.
The second type of pressure activated water toys are toys that use air pressure to force water through squirt channels. Such toys that use this technology are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,674 to Jones et al. The Jones patent shows a two piece apparatus consisting of a pressurized water reservoir and a discharging gun. The Jones patent has a hand operated air pump but differs from the present invention in that it is not a bow, it does not have a one piece self-contained pressurization system, and it lacks the valve configuration needed to support such a self-contained system. Additionally, the present invention has the capability of working at very high pressures and incorporates safety criteria into its design to eliminate the inherent dangers of high pressure liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,364 is directed to a water gun which is encompassed in a bow handle and utilizes a bow string to impart strong force to fire the gun. It does not utilize increased air pressure on water to propel water by opening a release means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,611 covers a combination bow/water gun and includes water storage in the bow handle. It fires a slug of water using a plunger but does not use air to pressurize water in its storage reservoir nor utilize a pull mechanism to open a release means upon release of the pull mechanism.
Thus, the prior art does teach the use of toy water guns that operate by the pressurization of stored water, but the prior art does not teach or suggest a toy water gun bow that has a self-contained means of pressurizing stored water with air, and has a valve configuration that allows pressuring inlet air and exiting pressurized air and water to exit the stored water reservoir through and by the same opening. Thus, the water gun of the present invention may be a one piece unit with a high pressurization capacity which results in ease of both use and manufacture. Also, the prior art fails to teach or suggest the use of highly pressurized air with toy water gun bows and fails to recognize the needed design criteria and safety allowances to eliminate the traditional hazards of producing, storing and discharging high pressure liquids.